Court Rules City Cannot Block Church’s Lawsuit Over Food Ministry

December 2, 2024

A U.S. District court has ruled that the Arizona city of San Luis cannot prevent a church from suing over the shutdown of a ministry that provided food to needy families near the southern U.S. border.

According to Christianity Daily, Senior District Court Judge G. Murray Snow denied the city of San Luis’ request last week to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the Gethsemani Baptist Church.

The lawsuit, filed in March, stated that the food ministry had been operating since 1999 and had helped hundreds of families by distributing food and sharing the gospel.

The ministry was shut down by the city in 2022 after city officials claimed that Gethsemani Baptist Church violated zoning laws, such as use of semi-trucks in a residential area and engaging in “commercial-level food distribution.”

Christianity Daily reports that the lawsuit specifically named the city of San Luis, Mayor Nieves G. Riedel, Acting City Manager Jenny Torres, and City Code Enforcement Officer Alexis Gomez Cordova.

In last week’s ruling, Judge Snow stated, “the Church has a plausible claim that it maintains the legal right to continue operating its ministry” and that the congregation “sufficiently plead facts to establish a plausible entitlement to relief.”

In late July, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a statement of interest in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, explaining that the church’s activities are legitimate under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000.

The church is being represented by the First Liberty Institute

Photo: top, Credit: Gethsemani Baptist Church